8 April 2008
By: Cosmin Vasile, Communications News Editor
Funky music phone with Gesture control function
Sony Ericsson W380i is a low mid-level ranged clamshell, which introduces new features
into the handset market. Besides the external touch music controls that seem to take
advantage of the 'haptic feedback' technology, the clamshell also features gesture control. It
is surprising that the Japanese-Swedish joint-venture decided to test new technologies by
embedding it onto entry level products. Still, this policy will probably make these handsets
sell much better than any other device in their range. Without impressing too much through
its design, Sony Ericsson W380i proves to be an excellent choice for those music lovers
that cannot afford an expensive Walkman series mobile phone.
Announced in November 2007, Sony Ericsson W380i clamshell was out on the market four
months later, in March 2008. Even if it is cheaper than its Walkman series predecessors
are, W380i is still worth no less than USD 320$ (SIM free) and is available in four colors:
Electric Purple, Magnetic Grey, Black Champagne and Black Orange.
Design
Sony Ericsson W380i features a clamshell form factor, but it will not stand out in the crowd.
The phone can very easily stay in a youngster's hands, as well as in a businessman's. It
looks funky, but serious at the same time. Measuring 92 x 49 x 16 mm and weighing 100
grams (including battery), the handset fits perfectly into a medium sized pocket. The
excellent plastic used gives the phone a stylish and trendy look, but W380i is still far from
being a fashion phone. Unfortunately, unfolding it with a single hand is out of the question or
at least very hard to carry out.
External keys are limited to a dual volume key found on the right side of the clamshell, and
the three touch controls placed near the secondary external display. On the left side of the
phone, the proprietary Sony Ericsson port enables users to attach the headset that comes
in the sales package, the charger, or the USB cable for synchronization. There is a bad part
and a good part about this kind of port. While you cannot charge the phone and listen to
music to the headphones also, instead you can charge the battery of the phone during
synchronization with a PC. This will definitely take more time, but at least you get this option
that is not available for too many handsets. The front part of the clamshell features the
secondary external OLED mono display (128 x 36 pixels resolution), which is not visible
until you activate the music player or unfold the phone. At a first glance, the 3 external
music controls placed right under the small OLED display seem to have only an ornamental
purpose, but they're touch keys that control the music player and feature 'haptic feedback'.
You don't need to press too hard on the keys, but only pat them gently as they are very
responsive.
The 1.3 Megapixel camera has been placed above the small screen together with the
speakerphone. On the back of the phone, you will notice a small keylock that unlocks the
external touch keys, so you can start the MP3 player without unfolding the clamshell. The
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The interface of the camera is very basic and very poor in features: Effects, White balance,
Self Timer and Night mode.
Furthermore, sample pictures clearly show that, if you want a good camera phone, then
you better pick another device as this one will not do.
Menu and Software
Sony Ericsson W380i runs the same firmware specific to all Walkman series handsets. The
most attractive feature of the phone is, without doubt, the Gesture control, which requires
you to keep the camera module open. That will clearly drain your battery energy faster, so I
suggest more restrain when using this features. Anyway, how does it function? The concept
is very simple: when you get a call and you are in a meeting and want to mute the phone,
just move your hand in front of the camera and the phone will simply stop ringing turning to
'Mute'. You can do the same thing when snoozing the alarm. Don't forget to turn ON the
feature, as the clamshell comes with the Gesture control feature set to OFF by default.
Besides the usual productivity tools included (Calendar, Notes, Calculator, Image viewer,
Organizer, World time, and Tasks), multimedia lovers will be happy to discover the usual
applications that are not missing from any respectful Walkman series handset: MusicDJ,
TrackID, Sound recorder, but also some games (ExtremeAir Snowboarding, QuadraPop
and Sims 2). The phone can be customized to look more stylish by taking advantage of the
Flash Lite themes support.
The File manager of the phone does a great job and features 3 list modes: All (both
memories), phone memory and external memory. MP3 and MIDI files can be added as
ringtones, if you want to change the default ringtones. The embedded HTML browser is also
poor in features and, because of the small display, it offers a 'crippled' browse experience.
The Java emulator works with just about any compatible application, I had no troubles
running any benchmarks, games or productivity software. Nothing really changed into the
‘ol' good’ Sony Ericsson's interface, which makes the user forget that he is using an
entry-level phone. Overall, SE's W380i user-interface is very easy to use and offers
maximum functionality to a 'noobish' user as well as to a mobile phone freak.
Communication
Only the standard features have been included into W380i clamshell, but that is more than
enough, especially if these are working within the parameters. The phone features GPRS
and EDGE Class 10, as well as the High-Speed Circuit-Switched Data speed transfer.
EDGE speed benchmark revealed average results – 107 Kbit/s download and 53 Kbit/s
upload, but it is much better than GPRS at least.
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The handset is also Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP compatible; it features USB 2.0 connectivity
and a RSS reader. Pity that Bluetooth data transfer speed didn't exceed more than 41 KB/s
when sending files and 46 KB/s when receiving files, but at least it works and looks to be
average.
In terms of messaging, the clamshell is compatible with SMS, MMS, EMS, RSS feeds,
Push email, POP3 and IMAP protocols, and can be used to send Instant Messages.
The triband (GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900) network compatible handset has a good
GSM signal reception. The sound is very clear and pretty loud, so don't be afraid to talk in
crowded areas. The vibration alert has also very good intensity.
Processor and Memory
Sony Ericsson W380i features an ARM9 family processor running at speeds up to 125
Mhz. This is one of the lowest CPU that has been lately embedded into a Sony Ericsson
handset, but the Japanese-Swedish company is renowned for not using powerful CPU's.
Not much to talk about it, as the processor does its job, especially that we are handling an
entry-level phone. Even if it is a little bit slow, you still get a nice experience when playing
some Java compatible games.
The 14MB internal memory is not nearly enough, especially when we are talking about a
phone targeting music lovers. Fortunately, the clamshell comes with an additional 512 MB
M2 card that can be used to store enough music for a time.
The M2 slot card can be found on the left side of the device, but only after you take out the
back cover. The memory is hot-swappable, but if you are planning to pull out the memory
card very often, take care of the flimsy back cover. If you think higher, you can take a 2 GB
M2 memory card for more storage space.
Multimedia
Sony Ericsson W380i clamshell features only Walkman 2.0 version, but other than that, it is
a pure Walkman phone. The Equalizer has the Mega-Bass setting, as well as some others:
Bass, Treble boost, Voice and Normal. There is no option for adding new settings if you do
not like any of the above-mentioned. The included HPM-64 wired stereo headset offers
above-average quality music experience.
You can even change the headset with any 3.5mm compatible headphone, as the sales
package also includes an adapter. The speakerphone on the front cover of the clamshell
sounds good also, but a little bit low.
If you are fed up of listening the music from your memory card, you can use the Radio FM
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that features RDS. It can store up to 20 base stations and has the Autoscan feature. The
sound is a little bit louder than that of the music player, but I had minor problems with the
reception.
There are also a Video player and the usual TrackID music recognition application. Overall,
Sony Ericsson's W380i offers an exceptional multimedia experience for a phone in its
category.
Battery
Sony Ericsson W380i uses a Li-Ion 920 mAh standard battery that has a standby time of
300 hours and up to 7 hours of talk time. Infact, the phone's battery exhausted after about 4
hours of talk time and about 200 hours in standby mode. Numbers are still great for such a
mid-level phone, not to mention that the playback time is about 15 hours, depending on the
volume. I would not expect less from a Sony Ericsson handset battery, and it's good that it
has become a standard for the company to include good batteries on all its handsets.
Impressions
The first time you notice W380i, you really cannot say that it is a low mid-level clamshell.
Because of the polished plastic, the handset seems stylish and sparky. The external touch
keys also contribute to this opinion and it doesn't take more than 3 seconds to be caught by
its beauty. Sony Ericsson W380i is definitely one of the best-looking mid-level phones,
which will probably boost its sales.
The Good
Besides its design, W380i clamshell offers exactly what a Walkman series phone should
offer – an excellent multimedia experience. If you are a music lover and cannot afford a
much better device, then this is the right choice for you. If you intend to acquire one, you will
also get a device with high playback autonomy (around 15 – 16 hours), that doesn't miss
any feature embedded into a Walkman series device. Not to mention that the Gesture
control function is amazing and works great, even if that means lower talk and standby time.
The Bad
Most of Sony Ericsson's fans are complaining about the low camera module, but I wouldn't
put it this way. First of all, it's obvious that this camera has been included for a totally
different reason: Gesture control. Yes, you have a Walkman series clamshell that lacks a
camera; you don't like it, buy yourself another phone. The only thing that I consider
'negative' about W380i is its high price. There is no way that this phone is worth USD 320$,
even if it has some top-notch technology embedded. In addition, I guess SE could have
been more resourceful and include a bigger display, as this one is ridiculously small.
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Sales package
Sony Ericsson W380i handset
920 mAh Li-Ion Battery (BST-39)
512 MB M2 memory card
Wired stereo headset (HPM-64)
USB data cable
Charger
User Guide
Sony Ericsson PC Suite CD
Photo: Tudor Raiciu for Softpedia.com
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